Offset pivoted clousure for hopper cars



Jan. 29, 1963 A. o. SINHOFF OFFSET PIVOTED CLOSURE FOR HOPPER CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 20. 1958 INVENTOR. ,l/O-od J/fo S /W Jan. 29, 1963 A. o. SINHOFF 3,

I OFFSET PIVQTED CLOSURE FOR HOPPER CARS Filed Aug. 20, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /4 INVENTOR. ///)-ed /ra Jh/a j Jan. 29, 1963 A. o. SINHOFF OFFSET PIVOTED CLOSURE FOR HOPPER CARS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 20, ,1958

INVENTOR. Wrrn! af/b {Fa/W Pa/m/flu-A- United States Patent Ofiiice 3,675,477 Patented Jan. 29, 1963 The present invention relates to closure members for use in connection with dump carts, especially railroad freight car dischargers.

It is known in connection with railroad freight car dischargers to design the discharge plate or discharge chute which is adjacent to the discharge opening in the car body, so that the chute has parallel side walls and to journal the curved member in the space between said side walls, i.e. on the discharge plate or discharge chute. This arrangement, however, has the drawback that the bearings for the curved closure member will be located within the range of the material passing downwardly from the opening in the car body onto the discharge plate. As a result thereof, the flow of the goods being discharged is impeded continuously and, furthermore, the bearings for the curved closure member are subjected to a considerable wear and incrustation.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a curved closure, which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a closure of the type set forth above, in which the bearings of the closure will not be affected by the goods being discharged.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a curved closure, in which the bearings therefor cannot be incrusted by the goods being discharged.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial side section through a railroad car body with curved closure and discharging plate according'to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view looking in from the left side of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section along the line IIIIII of FIG. 8.

FIG. 4 is a section on line IV- IV.of FIG. 8 and shows the location of the side edges of the closure plate and of that portion of the confining plates of the chute which are connected with the car body.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view indicated by lines V-V on FIG. 1 showing a seal at those edges of the closure plate which contact the confining walls and the discharge plate.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view indicated by line VI-Vi on FIG. 4 illustrating another form of seal FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6 but showing still another type of seal.

FIG. 8 is a section taken along the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 1 andshows the discharge chute in transversecross section and shows the .supportingarms for the closure member and the seal around the closure member.

General Arrangement The V-shaped design and tapering of the discharge plate with the plates connected thereto will permit the installation of a conveyor belt not only parallel to the longitudinal axis of the device but also transverse to the same, said conveyor belt having a moderate width.

According to an actual embodiment of the invention, the closure members are sickle-shaped in such a way that the leg carrying the closure plate and pertaining to the supporting arms for the closure plate extend in closed position of said closure beyond, the lateral confining side walls of the discharge plate. A very good seal is had by means of the curved closure, especially forfine granular material, is obtained by inclining the side wall edges of the closure plate with regard to the vertical plane .and also by inclining that portion of the confining walls with regard to a vertical plane which is connected to the car body. When the closure is moved from its open position into its closing position, the lateral edges of the closure plate slip into a wedge-shaped groove so that during closing and openings. considerably less friction is to be overcome whereby the actuation force and the wear of the sealing edges will be reduced. The marginal portions of the closure plate which contact the discharge plate and the confining walls thereof are provided with asealing strip which is held either by wedge-shapednuts or by screws.

Structural Arrangement Arranged below the car body 1 and between two 1ongitudinal beams 2 (one only being shown), are the transverse side beams 3 and 4 which are provided with bearings 5 and 6 (see FIG. 3) having pivotally journalled therein supporting arms 7 and8 for a closure member. As is particular-1y clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, the supporting arms which are of the same design have a sickle shape and have legs 7a, 7b; 8a, 8b. A discharge plate '9 is connected to the wall of the car body and is located adjacent the discharge opening 10. The discharge opening 10 is closed by closure plate 11 when the curved closure member occupies its closing position, said closure plate 11 being supported by two legs 7b and 8b of the curve darms. As will be seen in FIG. 1, there is an opening It) on each side of the center line of the car body, and a discharge plate 9 and a closure plate 11 pertaining to each opening.

As will be evident from FIGS. 2 and 3, the discharge plate 9 is provided with two side edges 9a and 9b which diverge toward the car body and extending therefrom are the confining sheet metal walls 12, 13 and 14, 15. The sheet metal walls 12, 14 are inclined upwardly and outwardly at a small angle only with regard to the discharge plate, whercas the confining sheet metal walls 13, 15 aresubstantially perpendicular with regard to the discharge plate.

The shape of the supporting arms 7 and Sis so selected that When moving the curved closure into its closing position, the legs 7b, 8b carrying the closure plate 11 protrude beyond the confining walls 12, 13 and 14, "15. The supporting legs 7a, 8a, however, will in closing position of said closure be located outside the confining Walls.

As will be seen from FIG. 2, the bearings 5, 6 of the supporting .armsare located outside of the discharging device formed by the discharging plate 9 and the confining walls 12, 13, 14, 15. Consequently, the flow of the .goods passing through the discharge opening 10 onto the discharge plate will not be impeded by the bearings -5, 6 and the bearings themselves will not be soiled and cannot be subjected to incrustation.

In order to obtain a favorable sealing effect, part 16 of the chute connected to the car body and pertaining to the confining walls (FIG. 4), and the lateral edges 17 of the closure 11 may be inclined relative to a vertical plane sonar;

so as to diverge upwardly. According to FIG. 4, the angle between the vertical plane and the inclined lateral edges of the closure, or the angle between the vertical plane and that part of the confining walls 16 which is connected to the car body is designated as the angle a. During the closing movement, the inclined position of the closure edges 17 and of the confining Walls will cause the closure edges to move so to speak into a wedgeshaped groove so that with increasing closing movement a good seal will be obtained under low wear.

The side edges of the closure 11, which edges contact confining walls l2, 13, 14 and 15, may be provided with a sealing strip or a sealing sleeve 18. This member 18 is, as illustrated in FIG. 5, fixedly arranged between the closure 11 and a holding strip or holding block 19 while a Wedge-shaped nut carried by angle Zita fixed to closure 11 presses the part 19 against sealing sleeve 18. This sealing element could also extend across the edge of closure 11 which engages plate 9 if desired.

FIG. 8 furthermore shows the curved closure part 11 and the car box 1 as seen from the back. Similar to FIG. 1, a portion of the car box 1 is visible and is confined by dash lines. In FIGS. 8 and 1 a reinforcing angle 31 reinforces the inclined side wall of the car box 1 within the range of the discharge opening lil. Adjacent thereto and vertically downwardly directed ar the parts 16 of the confining surfaces 12, 13 and 1d, 15 which merge at their ends with the discharge plate 9. Below angle 31, webs 32 are visible adjacent to which is provided the closure part 11 with its upper angled-01f marginal portion 11:: in closing condition as shown in FIG. 1. In the chamber confined by the walls l2, l3 and 14, 5 and the discharge board 9 at three sides is the closure part 11 connected to the slide supporting arms 7 and 8. Between arms 7 and 8 at the back side of the closure member 11 there are provided two reinforcing angles 33 and 34 for reinforcing the closure part 11. Mounted on the arms 7 and 8 are members 35 and At three sides of its circumference, the closure member 11 has an angle shaped holder thereon. The edge of the closure member is spaced by the distance 24 from the inner edge of the confining walls 12 to 15 and of the bottom of discharge chute 9. The thus obtained gap between the confining walls 12 to 5, and the bottom 9, and the closure member 11 is filled by the seal 18 which by means of holder 25 in conformity with FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is connected to the closure member 11.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 6, between the strips or blocks 19 and the closure 11 there is provided a soft wood member 21 in order to prevent an undue compression of the sealing sleeve 18a.

With the embodiment according to FIG. 7, the sealing sleeve 18c has bores 23 through which pass the bolts 22 that also pass through closure 11.

As will be seen in FIG. 1, there is a closure member 11 on each side of the center line of the car body. A saddle extending transversely of the car body and welded thereto includes vertical plates (FIG. 3) to which walls 16 are connected. These vertical plates 36 are curved to engage the curved faces of closure members 11.

The closure members 11 are operated by levers, one of which is shown at 26 in H6. 1. Lever 26 is fixed to shaft 27 which carries arm 28 that is connected to closure member 11 by links 29 so that movement of the lever 26 in the direction of the arrow will open the closure member connected thereto.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present in vention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a railroad discharging freight car having a car body with a discharge opening therein: a downwardly inclined discharge chute connected to the car body adjacent said discharge opening and leading aWay from the discharge opening and comprising a downwardly inclined discharge plate having lateral upstanding side Walls extending in substantially V-shaped formation with regard to each other, said side walls converging in a direction away from said discharge opening, a closure member movable transversely of said chute across said opening for closing said opening, said closure member being arcuate in cross section in the direction of movement thereof supporting arms attached to said closure member and extending therefrom on the concave side of the closure member, said arms having portions extending over the tops of said chute side walls and arranged outside said chute, and bearing means supported by said freight car outside said chute and pivotally supporting said supporting arms, said bearing means being located substantially on the axis representing the center of the curvature of said closure member.

2. In combination with a railroad discharging freight car having a car body with a discharge opening therein: a downwardly inclined discharge chute connected to the car body adjacent said discharge opening and leading therefrom and comprising a downwardly inclined discharge plate having upstanding lateral side walls extending in substantially V-shaped formation with regard to each other and converging in a direction away from said discharge opening, a closure member movable transversely of said chute across said opening for closing said opening, said closure member being arcuate in cross section in the direction of movement thereof and being concave on the side toward said chute, supporting means including an arm fixedly connected to each end of said closure member inside the chute and having portions extending over the tops and then downwardly on the outside of the respective adjacent side wall when said closure member is in its closed position, and bearing means supported by said freight car outside said chute and pivotally supporting said supporting means, said bearing means being located on the axis representing the center of curvature of said closure member.

3. In combination with a railroad discharging freight car having a car body with a discharge opening therein: a downwardly inclined discharge chute connected to the car body adjacent said discharge opening and leading therefrom and comprising a downwardly inclined discharge plate having lateral upstanding side walls extending in substantially .l-shaped formation with regard to each other and converging in a direction away from said discharge opening, those portions of said walls which are adjacent said freight car forming an acute angle with a vertical plane, a closure member movable selectively into a first position for uncovering said opening or into a second position for closing said opening, said closure member being arcuate in cross section in the direction of movement thereof and being concave on the side toward said chute, said closure member being provided with lateral wall portions forming an acute angle with the respective adjacent vertical plane, each lateral wall portion being formed as an arm connected at one end to said closure member and extending from the concave side of the closure member above the respective side wall of the chute and then downwardly on the outside of the chute, and bearing means on said freight car pivotally supporting said arms at their other ends, said bearing means being located on an axis representing the center of curvature of said closure member.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein sealing means is connected to those edges of the closure member which engage the bottom and sides of the chute when the closure member closes said discharge openings.

5. In combination with a railroad car having a dis charge opening, a chute connected to the car body and aligned with and extending outwardly from said opening to direct material discharged through said opening, said chute having an inclined bottom wall and side walls, a curved closure member movable transversely of said chute across said opening from above to prevent discharge of material, said closure member being curved about an axis located outwardly from said discharge opening so as to be convex on the side toward said discharge opening and concave on the side toward said chute, bearings positioned externally of said chute and spaced longitudinally of said chute from said closure member in closed position and located on said axis, and supporting means pivotally supported on said bearings and extending therefrom over the tops of said side walls and being connected to the concave side of said closure member.

6. A combination according to claim 3 wherein a seal strip is provided extending about those edges of the closure member which engage the side walls and bottom wall of said chute, said seal comprising a protruding tubular edge portion and having its other edge portion adjust- 6 ably clamped to the pertaining edge of the closure member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 287,663 Godwin Oct. 30, 1883 670,615 King Mar. 26, 1901 718,742 Umholtz Ian. 20, 1903 814,141 King Mar. 6, 1906 947,682 Knowles et a1. Jan. 25, 1910 1,105,948 Wright Aug. 4, 1914 1,706,936 Oliver Mar. 26, 1929 1,955,868 Wine Apr. 24, 1934 1,975,573 Hankins Oct. 2, 1934 2,245,376 Wine June 10, 1941 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A RAILROAD DISCHARGING FREIGHT CAR HAVING A CAR BODY WITH A DISCHARGE OPENING THEREIN: A DOWNWARDLY INCLINED DISCHARGE CHUTE CONNECTED TO THE CAR BODY ADJACENT SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND LEADING AWAY FROM THE DISCHARGE OPENING AND COMPRISING A DOWNWARDLY INCLINED DISCHARGE PLATE HAVING LATERAL UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED FORMATION WITH REGARD TO EACH OTHER, SAID SIDE WALLS CONVERGING IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, A CLOSURE MEMBER MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF SAID CHUTE ACROSS SAID OPENING FOR CLOSING SAID OPENING, SAID CLOSURE MEMBER BEING ARCUATE IN CROSS SECTION IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT THEREOF SUPPORTING ARMS ATTACHED TO SAID CLOSURE MEMBER AND EXTENDING THEREFROM ON THE CONCAVE SIDE OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, SAID ARMS HAVING PORTIONS EXTENDING OVER THE TOPS OF SAID CHUTE SIDE WALLS AND ARRANGED OUTSIDE SAID CHUTE, AND BEARING MEANS SUPPORTED BY SAID FREIGHT CAR OUTSIDE SAID CHUTE AND PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID SUPPORTING ARMS, SAID BEARING MEANS BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY ON THE AXIS REPRESENTING THE CENTER OF THE CURVATURE OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBER. 